Shield for railway cars



S. SHAFFER SHIELD FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Nov.

f'fl Illll Patented Apr. 8, 1924. v

UNITED STATES SAMUEL SHAFFER, 0F HIAWALIHA, KANSAS.

SHIELD FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Application led November 12, 1923. Serial No. 674,262.

To all 'whom t may conce/m:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL SHAFFER, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Hiawatha, in the county of Brown and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shields for Railway Cars, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relatesto shields or fort for use in cars, and the said invention relates particularly to `a bullet-proof shield or case in which refuge may be takenby railway employees, express messengers, mail clerks and the like in order that'they will be protected from the fire of bandits or robbers.

It is an object of this invention to produce a case of the character indicated from which the occupants may observe the movement of the robbers and from which they can direct a fire to protect themselves and the contents of the car.

It is a further object of this invention to produce acase of the character indicated in which port holes, through which tiring is to be done, mav be guarded by movable plates, so that the port holes may be covered or uncovered, as the defense progresses.

vIt is a further object of this invention to produce a vcase having means for ventilation and for seeing the interior of the car in any direction in which the case is placed. It is a still further object of this invention to produce a case of the character indicated which will be comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and `which will prove safe from bullet fire or attack lntended to demolish the case. l

IVith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describin."- the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and 1n which- Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a fort embodying the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged detailv Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view of the bottom of the fort and its anchorage.

In these drawingsI it is shown that the fort comprises a shell 5 which is preferably cylindrical and `provided with inWardl turned apertured lugs 6 at the base, Whic lugs are secured to the floor 7 of a car by fastenings 8 such as bolts. Any number of lugs and fastenings may be provided, according to the requirements in practice, to produce proper anchorage for the fort. The case has an opening that is guarded by a door 9 secured on hinges 10 1n order that the door will close, and the Said door has a latch 11 on its inner side that will engage a fastener 12 of any well known construction. As the particular form of latch and retaining device may be varied to suit particular requirements, these features arc, but conventionally shown.'

The upper end of the fort has a horizontally disposed flange 13 to which a top plate or cover 14 is secured by fastenings 15 such as bolts, the top plate, of course, being preferably made of metal which is bulletproo A series of port holes 16 are formed in i the shell and in the door, and these port holes are each provided with a door or shield 17 that moves Ahorizontally in the guides 18 and 19 secured to the inner surface of the shell. The guides are flanged as shown and the guards slide between the flange and the inner surface of the shell, and if desired, means may be provided for holding the guards at diiferent positions of adjustment, either to close the port hole or to guard it. The guides are secured in place by fastenings 20 such as screws that may extend through the guides and be anchored r in the shell. The shell is further provided with a plurality of peep holes 21, through which the movements of the robbers may be observed and by which the defensive re may be more accurately directed. A

The refuge of this application has been described as of utility in cars, but it will be understood and it is also stated that-1t `1s trust companies and business ouses or any .place where money or valuable property is kept, and the invention in discussion is to protect' this property and protect' life as well.

l claim:

In a fort of the character described, a cylindrical shell having lugs extending inwardly from the lower edge adapted to receive means for securing. the lugs to a car oor, the said shell having a series of port holes positioned in alinement around the shell and sight openings thereabove, a guide secured t0 the inner surface of the shell b elow the port holes and having an upwardly extending Hangs` a guide secured to the inner surface e* the shell above the rt holes and having a downwardly extending flange adapted t0 coact with tbe irst mentioned guide and flange, curved guards slidable between the ouides and held in position by the flanges to close the port holes, and a door for the said shell having means interiorly of the shell'foraholding the door closed.

SAMUEL SHAFFER. 

